About this book

Introduction

This book advocates a fresh approach to planning that anticipates, rather than reacts to, the changes in climate currently in process. Today’s spatial planning procedures rely on historical evidence instead of preparing for factors that by definition lie in the future, yet which are relatively uncontroversial: shortages of water, sea level rise and rises in average temperatures being but three examples. Arguing for more flexibility, the contributors view ‘complexity’ as the key to transforming the way we plan in order to better equip us to face uncertainties about our future environment. With chapters on complexity, network theory and transformation featuring prominently, contributors show how anticipatory planning protocols give us the capability to deal with sudden changes, in the same way that a swarm of bees adapts collectively to shifting environmental imperatives. The new approach is thus called ‘swarm planning’, and in addition to delineating this new theory, this volume provides many examples from the Netherlands and elsewhere that illustrate its practical application.